Business trip to Paris and London (2/2)

Today is our travelling day to London. We checked out from the hotel in the morning, and headed to Gare du Nord for our Eurostar train.

Gare du Nord

It was my first time taking the high speed train service from Paris to London. Gare du Nord is one of the major terminals in Paris.

Eurostar check in

We headed to the first floor to check in to Eurostar. We had to clear the UK immigration stationed there, before going to the platform. The platform itself was rather chaotic. People were forming lines in all directions that it wasn’t clear where we were supposed to go. The terminal overall condition is rather dirty too.

The train ride took around 2 hours 30 mins. Perhaps I’ve been taking too many Shinkansen rides over the past 1 year, somehow I find the Eurostar train and it’s overall experience to be unimpressive.

London St Pancras

As we arrived at London St Pancras, the difference is immediately obvious. The station feels modern, much more cleaner than Gare du Nord, and the people friendlier. It’s always a nice feeling to be back in the UK 🙂

In London, we stayed at the Intercontinental Hotel on Park Lane. It’s a really nice hotel in the Mayfair area. We checked in, put our bags, and headed out again for a walk.

Food at Melur Restaurant

In the evening, we had dinner at Melur Restaurant (website), a well known Malaysian restaurant in London.

Thursday, 14 April 2016

Meeting with Transport for London

In the morning, we had a meeting with Transport of London (TfL). We met the following officers:

Mike Brown (Commissioner of TFL)

Leon Daniels (Managing Director of Surface Transport)

Gareth Powell (Director of Strategy and Service Development)

We discussed various current issues and potential areas of collaboration. It was a fruitful meeting.

Palace of Westminster

After the meeting, we walked across central London and had lunch. Along the way we passed by various London landmarks.

Meeting with the Malaysian High Commissioner to the UK

In the afternoon, we paid a courtesy visit to the Malaysian High Commissoner to the UK, Datuk Ahmad Rasidi Hazizi. It was my first time going to Belgrave Square, well known for the location of many of the embassies in London. We had a good chat with the Commissioner.

After the courtesy visit, I went to Bayswater to see the venue of our meeting with the Malaysian students tomorrow at Malaysia Hall.

Friday, 15 April 2016

Meeting at Imperial College

In the morning, we had a meeting with Imperial College. We met with Richard Anderson and Alexander Barron from the Transport Strategy Centre (RTSC) of Imperial College. We discussed the consulting services that they offered, and the various kinds of transportation data that they have.

In the afternoon, I went back to the hotel to get some work done. I ordered lunch from the hotel and enjoyed a nice view of the Wellington Memorial.

Meeting with UCL

In the afternoon, we had a meeting with the Centre for Transport Studies of University College London (UCL). We discussed various education collaboration for our SPAD Academy.

Engaging Malaysians in London

Later in the evening, we met the Malaysian students and professionals at Malaysia Hall in Bayswater. Our CEO wanted to engage these Malaysians, talk about the major transportation initiatives by the government and promote the prospect of working in SPAD. Throughout the session, we were pleased to see a large number of attendees showing keen interest in career opportunities in SPAD.

Dinner at Khan’s Restaurant

After the engagement session, we took all the Malaysians that attended our session for dinner at Khan’s Restaurant in Bayswater. It was my first time at Khan’s. The food was really good.

Saturday, 16 April 2016

Morning walk at Hyde Park

Today is our departure day back to Malaysia. I woke up early and had breakfast at a nearby Pret. After breakfast, I went for a stroll at the Wellington Memorial and Hyde Park. Temperature was a crisp 7°C. It was a pleasant morning walk. After 20 minutes or so, I went back to the hotel, checked out, and later headed to the airport for our flight back to Kuala Lumpur.